


Sweet Poison

by Cowoline



Series: Sweet aromas [1]
Category: Baldur's Gate
Genre: Baldur's Gate 3 Spoilers, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:13:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27067693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cowoline/pseuds/Cowoline
Summary: "Astarion looks at me and I have to wonder; Do I actually see past the facade he keeps or am I deluding myself into believing feelings that aren't there?"Follow up on "Sweet Nectar" from Zalia's PoV.BG3 spoilers
Relationships: Astarion (Baldur's Gate)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Sweet aromas [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975534
Comments: 9
Kudos: 109





	Sweet Poison

I’m looking over the campsite making sure I have everything as the early morning sun caresses it. Many of the tieflings are still asleep after the party last night and I touch my neck making sure the salve I applied has begun to absorb. I had never thought of taking the expression ‘love bite’ quite so literally.

“Hello, lover.”

Astarion’s voice hums in my ear and carries a shiver down my spine. The hairs on my neck rise as the thought of his lips caressing it. Not his bite, but the deep kisses I remember vividly from mere hours ago and I have to make an effort for a sigh not to slip from my lips. My heart stirs at the endearment. After he attempted to sneak away this morning I wasn’t really certain what we were, and while I’m still not sure it gives me hope.

I smile, not looking back over my shoulder at him. “Hello.”

“Are you ready to leave yet?”

I roll my eyes with a giggle. “Yes, we can leave. I know how eager you are to part from the tieflings company.”

“These people, certainly, but there is one I would rather not part ways with just yet.” He places a hand on my waist and gives me a chaste kiss underneath my ear before pulling away.

I turn my head to look at him walking away. I wish my heart would not quiver so in his presence. I know he must have left at least a half dozen lovers back in Baldur’s gate, if what he told Shadowheart is true. And I have no reason to think it is an exaggeration or a lie. He might conceal the whole truth, but I have not once caught him in a lie and he does not boast about himself the way Gale does - or Wyll for that matter. And Baldur’s gate must be pure gourmet heaven for him. I know the likelihood of him forgetting about me or moving on will happen soon enough, but for some reason I can’t stop my heart from urging on this growing fondness for him. And why is that?

He has a talent for making me laugh, and I find his sense of superiority more amusing than insulting. While his morals are  _ definitely _ questionable I can’t think of him as cruel. And he is certainly charming - though I often find myself thinking it is a sweet poison meant to lure prey into his fangs like a carnivorous plant. I do wonder, though, if he was a just or a corrupt magistrate before the Gur killed him and his free will was taken by Cazador. 

And yet there are moments when this mask of his disappears and the last fraction of his tormented soul comes forth. Like when I discovered he was a vampire. He didn’t look like a frightening predator as much as he did a vulnerable man at my mercy… seeming almost ashamed. When he speaks of Cazador or the Gur his anger and fear shows the depths his emotions can take - and he does not seem as superficial as I thought him at first. Then there are moments when I have caught him staring at me. Moments where he loses his trail of thought as he speaks to me, and I have to wonder if it’s because he feels attracted to me or if it’s the allure of my blood. Whatever it is there is something tender about it - so fragile that I think maybe a wrong chosen word might break it.

Cazador owns him, body and soul, and whatever is left I know Astarion is willing to sell to a cambion. My heart aches at the thought and I will do  _ anything  _ to save that spark of vulnerable soul that I see.

But is it enough to throw caution to the wind and allow myself to fall in love with a vampire? And not just a vampire, but a man who values amusement, pleasure and his own survival above all else. A man who has a number of sweethearts - or meals - waiting for him.

Astarion looks at me from the edge of the camp and makes an impatient movement for us to get going. I release a huff as I walk towards him. Being looked at as a hero really makes him uncomfortable. I would call it humility, but I’m not sure that’s it. Gale and Wyll on the other hand are revelling in the praise, while Lae’zel scowls are severe enough for the tieflings to give her a wide berth. Shadowheart has a talent for hiding in the crowd, but as secretive as she is I can’t help but like her. I hope one day she will open up to me.

We venture towards the temple in the underdark making our way to the cure we hope to find somewhere beneath the darkness. We have not been down here for ten minutes before Astarion begins to complain that he misses the sun. I can hardly blame him - and I have seen how he stares at the sun set and rise when he thinks no one is looking.

The outside of the temple is littered with traps, and though I have superior vision in the dark, the surroundings are still shrouded. I feel an arm wrap around my stomach and pull me back as a firebolt from the temple’s defences nearly hits me.

“Careful,” Astarion says in a low voice and gives me a concerned look.

“Thank you. I will be more cautious.”

“Please do. I did not take you from the clutches of Lae’zel last night just for you to get injured now.”

“I..” I blink as his words sink in. “Wait, what?”

He chuckles. “You don’t think I am the only one who has noticed how delicious you are, do you?”

Thinking about it, I did notice Lae’zel’s snide remark last night, but I didn’t pay it much mind as Astarion was too much on my mind.

I give him a smirk and a look of mock offense. “I see, so last night was just you providing a service.”

“Not at all.” With a roguish grin he leans closer. “I meant what I said, when I said I have wanted you from the moment I laid eyes on you. Besides, I saw you first. Only fair that Lae’zel finds herself another victim.”

I walk ahead with a wicked grin. “Actually,  _ she  _ saw me first.”

“Then it’s fortunate you have good taste, darling.”

I giggle as we make our way to the other side, where the others finally manage to catch up to us. 

No, I shouldn’t allow myself to fall in love with him.

Later that night the chill of the frost spells from one of those pesky dwarves earlier still has me shivering - even in my bedroll close to the fire. After the fight we agreed to take the Myconids up on their offer, and decided to take a few hours of rest in a cave there before venturing across the unknown waters.  _ After _ we removed the unfortunate dead drow. 

I try to sleep, but every time I almost manage to drift off a shiver takes make. A shadow blocks the light from the fire and as I look up Astarion is putting his blanket on top of mine. He smiles at me and puts a finger to his lips. I close my eyes again, but my teeth keep chattering and I’m concerned just how deep into my core that spell hit me. The blanket lifts and Astarion crawls in under it, a mischievous smirk being lit up by the light from the fire.

“Granted, a vampire might not be the warmest of bedfellows, but the way you’re shivering I think that hardly matters.”

I turn my back to the fire and towards him as his one arm rests underneath his head and the other sneaks around my waist. Where his skin is usually cool, it now feels lukewarm and comfortable.

“Thank you.”

“Oh, don’t thank me. It’s not like I could get any sleep with the noise your teeth were making.”

His smile is as devious as ever, but there is a softness in his eyes that my heart interprets as something else. I know him to be selfish and callous, but it’s the same look he had the morning after I allowed him to drink my blood, where his first concern was my well being. And if he is merely an opportunist, then why insisting on feeding only on animals and villains of his own volition? Why insist he will not touch an innocent?

He places his hand on my neck, where the marks from his bite are still present - coaxing me to come closer to him.

Everything sensible tells me I shouldn’t love him, but as I press myself to him and rest my cheek against his chest I can’t deny that I want to. 


End file.
